RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE
Directorate Strategy
2013-2016
Working together for a safer Scotland
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Background 2
Directorate Profile
3
Managing Risk 6
Response and Resilience Priorities
9
Objectives and Actions
12
Contact Us 19
INTRODUCTION
It gives me great pleasure to
introduce the first Response and
Resilience Strategy for the new
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
(SFRS), a key component of our
planning framework that underpins
our work to secure an effective and
efficient operational response for
the people of Scotland.
The process of merging Scotland’s previous eight
fire and rescue services culminated in the launch of
the SFRS in April 2013, and I was both delighted
and very proud to be appointed as the Head of
Response and Resilience, making me responsible
for the policies and procedures that will determine
how we deliver our operational response to
emergencies. I feel that I am well positioned to
fulfil this role, with more than 27 years’ experience
working in the service. I started my career as a
firefighter with Kent Fire Brigade where I worked my
way up to Divisional Officer before transferring to
Strathclyde Fire Brigade in 2004 on promotion to
Senior Divisional Officer. In this role I served firstly
in Operations and then as Area Commander for
Glasgow, a post very similar to that of Local Senior
Officer in the new service.
I was promoted to Assistant Chief Officer in charge
of Strategic Planning in 2006, followed by three
years as Director of Operations, where I oversaw
the front line service delivery of more than 3,500
uniformed staff operating out of 110 fire stations.
I intend to use every bit of this experience to ensure
that the SFRS provides the very highest standards of
emergency response for Scotland’s communities.
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A huge amount of work has already been carried
out in aligning the operational processes and
procedures that each service had in place, making
certain that the new service is able to respond
to any emergency, anywhere in Scotland, safely
and effectively. This is a unique opportunity to
identify and implement best practice throughout
the country, meaning that the SFRS is already
providing an improved level of service delivery for
our communities, with a greater degree of inherent
resilience.
However this is only the start of what is a huge
undertaking that will allow the new SFRS to work
more efficiently to ensure that our communities are
protected. This Strategy will be a foundation stone
in our work to deliver a safer nation for the people
of Scotland, and will build on the outstanding work
carried out within Scottish Fire and Rescue Services
over recent years.
David Goodhew
Assistant Chief Officer
Response and Resilience
BACKGROUND
The SFRS strives to provide the
highest possible standards of
emergency response within all 32
of Scotland’s Local Authority areas.
Our work is led by the Scottish
Government’s National Performance
Framework, and bound by key
legislation. The SFRS Strategic
Plan outlines how the service will
deliver the Scottish Government’s
performance outcomes and this
Response and Resilience Strategy
provides detail as to how we will
achieve these challenging targets.
SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S NATIONAL
PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORK
The framework places responsibilities on all
government agencies and public services to
contribute towards making Scotland wealthier and
fairer, smarter, healthier, safer and stronger, and
greener. 16 National Outcomes underpin these
strategic objectives. Whilst the SFRS will work
closely with its partners in successfully achieving all
of these outcomes, this Strategy will focus on the
most relevant outcomes which are:
• National Outcome 6 - We live longer, healthier lives
• National Outcome 9 - We live our lives safe from
crime, disorder and danger
• National Outcome 11 - We have strong, resilient
and supportive communities where people take
responsibility for their own actions and how they
affect others
• National Outcome 16 - Our public services are
high quality, continually improving, efficient and
responsive to local people’s needs
THE FIRE (SCOTLAND) ACT 2005
This key document details our principal functions
including firefighting, attending road traffic
accidents and our attendance at certain other
emergencies as detailed in subsequent legislation.
It also details the powers that authorised employees
can exercise at emergency incidents.
THE FIRE (ADDITIONAL FUNCTION)
(SCOTLAND) ORDER 2005
This Order specifies additional provisions that the
fire and rescue service must make for attending
certain incident types including chemical incidents,
serious flooding incidents, serious transport
incidents and providing a search and rescue role.
THE CIVIL CONTINGENCIES ACT 2004
(CONTINGENCY PLANNING) (SCOTLAND)
REGULATIONS 2005
This Act details the responsibilities of emergency
services and other agencies to cooperate in
assessing and planning for major events and
emergencies, within Strategic Co-ordinating
Groups (now Regional Resilience Partnerships
[RRPs] ).
THE FIRE AND RESCUE FRAMEWORK FOR
SCOTLAND 2013
This framework provides priorities and objectives
for the SFRS, as well as guidance on how the
organisation should discharge its functions.
THE SFRS STRATEGIC PLAN
This document details the strategic aims of the
SFRS and how the service will deliver continuous
improvements in line with Scottish Government
expectations. It outlines the vision and values that
we should aspire to and the targets we must meet.
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2
DIRECTORATE PROFILE
This Strategy outlines the work
that will be done to ensure that the
SFRS provides the best possible
operational response for our
communities; however this cannot
be achieved without great support
from, and close working with:
the SFRS Board; the entire Senior
Leadership Team (SLT) of the SFRS;
and our colleagues within the other
Directorates. This Strategy will
be part of a suite of closely linked
documents delivered by the SLT that
will form the Planning Framework
for the SFRS. The Response and
Resilience Strategy supports the high
level objectives of the SFRS Strategic
Plan and complements the work of
other Directorates and departments
within the organisation, making
certain that we are all Working
Together for a Safer Scotland.
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The structure chart below shows how the Response and Resilience Directorate will undertake its
responsibilities. As can be seen, there are Response and Resilience teams embedded within each of the three
Service Delivery Areas, ensuring that operational matters are resolved at a local level wherever possible, and
providing liaison between the SDA and the Headquarters team. The Headquarters team oversee national
issues, policy and procedure, whilst the Operations Control team ensure that we have robust mobilising
arrangements in place. The Commonwealth Games team are responsible for all of the planning and
preparation required to make sure that the Games take place in an environment that is safe and secure.
There are a number of key areas
of work within the Response and
Resilience Directorate as follows:
RESPONSE PLANNING
This involves constantly assessing and reassessing
Scotland’s risk profile to meet the local and national
needs of our communities, ensuring that the right
resources are in the right place at the right time.
This is achieved using the process of Integrated Risk
Management Planning (discussed in more detail
under ‘Managing Risk’) and will be a key element in
delivering an efficient and effective response to the
communities of Scotland. In striving to secure both
firefighter safety and the best possible response to
emergencies, the Directorate will issue operational
and procedural information including Standard
Operating Procedures, Technical and General
Information Notes, and will work closely with our
colleagues in Asset Management to specify and
develop new equipment and vehicles.
RESILIENCE PLANNING
The SFRS Response and Resilience Directorate has
an overarching responsibility for establishing the
availability and continued suitability of all Scottish
Resilience Assets. The Directorate provides a
tactical link to the Regional Resilience Partnerships
(RRPs) and will oversee the integration of National
Interoperability Liaison Officers (NILOs) at both
a local and national level. The Response and
Resilience Directorate will also be responsible for
establishing a programme of training and exercises
to test our preparedness for dealing with major
incidents and for planning a response strategy for
the Commonwealth Games 2014. We will ensure
that lessons learned from this massive undertaking
can be shared with other agencies and will shape
our future work.
CIVIL CONTINGENCIES
Closely linked to the Resilience Planning work
detailed above, Civil Contingencies planning will
ensure that the SFRS is prepared for upcoming
major events and carries out realistic training
exercises with partner agencies to train for major
incidents that could foreseeably occur.
OPERATIONS CONTROL
Our Operations Control staff oversee the day-today operation of the SFRS control rooms, making
sure that our call handling and mobilising systems
work efficiently, and that sufficient resilience is
built into our Operations Control system to ensure
business continuity in the event of major incidents
and other foreseeable disruption. The Firelink
wide area radio system is used for mobilising and
passing information to fire crews and officers, and
the capability of this product is being continually
developed. Going forward, we will work closely
with the Board and our staff to establish the new
model for the provision of Fire Control for Scotland,
with the aim of migrating safely and seamlessly from
the eight legacy locations to the new structure.
SERVICE DELIVERY AREA (SDA) LIAISON
Effective liaison between the Response and
Resilience Directorate and each of our three SDAs
is essential and it will be a priority to establish a
communications structure that provides a single
point of contact between the Directorate and
locally based staff. This will ensure that operational
information and procedures are communicated
accurately, fully understood and correctly
implemented across the country and make certain
that there is consistency in our approach.
Directorate staff working from the SFRS HQ
deal with national policy and strategy and have
overarching control of all other Response and
Resilience work from this location. Within each
of the three SDA headquarters, Response and
Resilience teams are embedded where they
can provide liaison with the HQ team and can
provide operational assurance by assisting with the
implementation of Response and Resilience policy
and by managing civil contingencies planning and
operational information gathering within their area
of responsibility. SDA teams will also be responsible
for the production of procedural guidance as
directed by HQ.
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Each of the SDA teams will have specific responsibilities as detailed in the
diagram opposite.
OPERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Effective collation of operational intelligence ensures that fire crews can
have vital risk information about buildings and other installations available
to them when they need it most. A programme of operational intelligence
collection will be fully implemented, with station based personnel
being responsible in the first instance for the collection and submission
of relevant information. Response and Resilience staff will then be
responsible for making this information readily available on Mobile Data
Terminals within fire appliances and stations.
OPERATIONAL ASSURANCE
There is a continual process of Operational Assurance within the SFRS,
whereby our operational readiness and performance is routinely
assessed and control measures introduced where development needs
are identified or where risks are encountered or otherwise brought to
our attention. This process includes the review of our performance at
operational incidents and a programme of inspections at station and LSO
area level, making sure that our service delivery is at the highest possible
standards in terms of adherence to procedure, health and safety matters
and incident command. Thematic reviews will also look closely at specific
aspects of operational preparedness and provide rigorous assessment
of our operational capability. Operational Assurance meetings held at
strategic and tactical levels will ensure that all risk information, regardless
of its origin, can be collated and swiftly communicated to all relevant staff.
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RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE - NORTH
• SDA Liaison
• Operational Review
• Civil Contingencies
• Appliances and equipment
• Technical Information Notes
RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE - HQ
• Strategy
• Policy
• Performance
• National Liaison
• National Resilience
• Operations Control
• Operational Assurance
RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE - WEST
• SDA Liaison
• Operational review
• Civil Contingencies
RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE -EAST
• SDA Liaison
• Operational Review
• Civil Contingencies
• Operational intelligence
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Resilience Assets
• General Information Notes
MANAGING RISK
Scotland is a country with an almost
uniquely varied landscape. Large
industrial and cultural cities such as
Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen
and Dundee provide residential and
employment centres for many of our
5.3 million inhabitants, and these
cities, along with an extensive range
of smaller cities and towns, form the
heartland of the nation. Scotland
also has a great many remote,
rural and island communities, and
together these create a complex
picture of risk from fire and other
emergencies.
In establishing the most effective model for
emergency response in Scotland, it is also
important to recognise that the nation’s profile is
constantly changing. Scotland is culturally diverse,
and our demographics continually change as
people enter and leave the country. There is a
large and well established migrant community in
Scotland and it is essential that cultural differences,
where they exist, are understood and that our
services are equally accessible by all, regardless of
their background.
Stations that cover the more densely populated
areas of Scotland are predominantly staffed by
wholetime firefighters, with a combination of
these duty systems worked in other areas. In total,
there are more than 9,000 staff employed by the
SFRS, of which more than 8,000 are classed as
operational. There are over 1000 support staff and
approximately 200 control room staff. Our crews
respond to more than 90,000 incidents per year,
making the SFRS one of the biggest and busiest fire
services in the world.
Our population is also ageing, with 17% of people
in Scotland now over the age of 65. Statistical
analysis tells us that older people can be more
vulnerable from fire, and this must be reflected in
our planning activities.
The role of the Response and Resilience Directorate
is to ensure that the SFRS provides the most
effective operational response possible at times
of emergency, whilst maintaining firefighter safety.
These two key requirements go hand in hand, as
it is only when our firefighters have the correct
procedures, training and equipment available
to them that they can operate to their greatest
potential in challenging circumstances.
At present there are more than 350 fire stations
in Scotland, staffed in many different ways. The
majority of stations in rural locations are crewed
by Retained Duty System (RDS) or Volunteer
firefighters, and these dedicated employees
make themselves available by pager around the
clock to respond to emergencies in their area.
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A robust system of risk assessment will establish
where the greatest risks to our communities lie,
and once identified, these risks will be evaluated
in terms of their frequency and the severity of
their impact when they do occur. We can then
ensure that the appropriate resources are located
strategically across the country to address these
risks when they arise.
These risks are constantly changing and evolving,
therefore it is vital that the process of identifying
and managing risk is part of a cycle in which risk
is continually re-evaluated to ensure that our
response remains effective and appropriate. We
call this process Integrated Risk Management
Planning (IRMP), a practice we have been familiar
with since its introduction 10 years ago. IRMP gives
fire and rescue services the flexibility to locate
their operational resources where the greatest risk
exists, making certain that the greatest possible
improvement in public safety can be assured with
the assets available to us. IRMP also requires us to
look ahead to make sure that emerging risks are
identified early, and actions required to address
these emerging risks can be implemented before
our communities are exposed to them.
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The majority of our fire stations were built before the
advent of IRMP and it will be part of ongoing work
for Response and Resilience to determine whether
our existing infrastructure remains fit for purpose,
correctly sited, and appropriately staffed and
equipped to provide the level of protection that
our communities require. The IRMP process will use
computer modelling and data analysis, supported
by professional judgement and experience to
determine the most effective distribution of SFRS
resources to mitigate that risk.
Understanding the type of incidents that we attend
is also important if we are to provide an effective
service. The traditional role of firefighting is still
our key area of business, with more than 20% of
all incidents attended across Scotland in 2011/12
being fires of one type or another, and with
dwelling fires resulting in 51 fatalities and 1209
other casualties. However our rescue role has also
taken on greater significance in the last few years,
and we are now routinely called to attend transport
incidents, flooding incidents, water rescues and
hazardous materials incidents. We also need to
train and prepare for less common but foreseeable
incident types such as confined space rescues,
line rescues, urban search and rescue, and acts of
terrorism.
Many of these roles are highly specialised and it
is unrealistic to attempt to train every firefighter to
respond to every type of rescue, particularly those
that do not occur frequently. We already have a
small number of dedicated crews highly trained
in Urban Search and Rescue, Water Rescue and
Rope Rescue. We respond to Chemical, Biological,
Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) incidents and
have the facility to provide Mass Decontamination
for large numbers of people in the event of major
incidents. A review process will establish where
these rescue resources can be best located in order
to maintain the greatest level of protection for
Scotland whilst providing our communities with the
most equitable access to resources that is possible.
INTEGRATED
RISK
MANAGEMENT
IDENTIFY CURRENT
AND EMERGING
RISKS
APPROPRIATE POLICY
AND RESOURCE
DISTRIBUTION
Effectively addressing risk throughout Scotland has
always been challenging, however a flexible and
innovative approach to our service delivery will
ensure that our communities are well protected as
we move forward.
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RESPONSE AND RESILIENCE PRIORITIES
This Response and Resilience
Strategy has been written to
ensure that the SFRS provides an
effective and efficient response
to emergencies wherever and
whenever they occur. We are guided
in this work by the contents of the
Fire and Rescue Framework for
Scotland 2013 which identifies a
number of strategic priorities for the
SFRS. The following is a summary of
those priorities that are most relevant
to the Response and Resilience
Directorate, and these will direct us
in the creation of relevant objectives
and tasks over the lifespan of this
strategy document:
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• The SFRS must establish and maintain close links
with other agencies to ensure that responders
are provided with appropriate, relevant and
timely risk information, to ensure community and
firefighter safety.
• The SFRS must support effective multiagency emergency planning and response
by contributing fully to the work of Local and
Regional Resilience Partnerships in assessing
risk, preparing and planning for, responding
to and recovering from major and catastrophic
incidents.
• The SFRS must plan its operational response in a
way which reflects national and local risk across
Scotland and the UK and in doing so ensure that
its arrangements for operational command are
designed in the simplest possible form.
• The SFRS should actively develop a leading role
as a champion of specialist rescue, pro-actively
engaging with partners and other groups
to understand and manage the risk across
Scotland, and in doing so, create more equal
access to specialist rescue resources.
• When planning and managing a response to
foreseeable risks in the community, the SFRS
should seek to develop a shared understanding
with both local and national partners of their
relative roles, responsibilities and capabilities,
to ensure that when emergencies do occur,
they are responded to and concluded as
effectively and efficiently as possible, and in an
interoperable manner.
• The SFRS must ensure that arrangements are
in place so that communities can access fire
and rescue services, through a robust and
resilient command, control and communications
provision.
• The SFRS will continue to identify, advise on
and respond to emerging and established
risks, keeping its capability under review with
reference to the National Risk assessment and
other relevant sources.
• The SFRS should develop an appropriate
mechanism for the provision of strategic
assurance to Government that agreed
capabilities and interoperability arrangements
are in place and fit for purpose.
• The SFRS must establish and maintain close links
with relevant critical infrastructure stakeholders
to ensure that Scotland’s critical fire assets are
protected and resilient.
• To reduce the number of injuries to firefighters
through the introduction of effective operational
procedures and through the ready availability of
operational intelligence and risk information at
the point of need.
• Risk information should be effectively managed
at a national level and coordinated wherever
possible through all partner organisations,
encouraging appropriate information sharing
and joint analytical work. Identifying and
evaluating community risk will be key to
prioritising and targeting resources at areas of
greatest need, whilst remaining mindful that risk
is continually changing and the approach to risk
management must remain flexible.
• The SFRS should ensure effective business
continuity arrangements are in place, which
maintain service delivery at all times.
• The SFRS should be environmentally
conscious and should assess the impact on the
environment of its operational activities and
make every attempt to mitigate the impact of
fires, firefighting activities and other emergency
occurrences on our surroundings.
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OB J E CTI VE S AN D AC T I ON S
To ensure the Response and
Resilience Directorate Priorities are
fully serviced, the following suite of
Response and Resilience objectives
have been developed that will guide
the work of the Directorate and form
the basis of our 3 year Action Plans.
OBJECTIVE 1: OPERATIONAL RESPONSE
We will ensure the safety of our communities by
providing the best possible operational response
in times of emergency. We will work closely
with partner agencies, sharing appropriate risk
information, and providing our operational crews
with the best equipment, PPE (Personal Protective
Equipment), and procedures to enable them to
carry out their role effectively, whilst reducing risk
as far as possible. In providing our operational
response, we will strive to mitigate the effects of
fires and other emergency occurrences on the
environment.
OBJECTIVE 2: PLANNING
We will plan ahead, assessing existing, new and
emerging risks to ensure that we have the right
equipment, operated by trained personnel, at
the right location and at the right time to provide
the most effective response to emergency
situations when our communities need help.
Operational intelligence relating to risks within our
communities will be collated and made available to
all operational crews at the point of need, leading
to improved crew safety and reducing firefighter
injuries. We will support multi-agency emergency
planning and response to major incidents, and
continually review our capabilities in this area.
OBJECTIVE 3: COMMAND AND CONTROL
We will ensure that our communities can access
our emergency response through a robust and
resilient Control Room provision, and secure an
effective mobilising and communications system for
the co-ordination of our operational response. We
will also ensure that effective and robust methods
of incident command are used at all operational
incidents, making certain that appropriately
trained officers at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of
command are available and mobilised to incidents
as appropriate.
OBJECTIVE 4: INTEROPERABILITY
We will work closely with our key partner agencies
to ensure that we fully understand each other’s
capabilities and limitations and command and
control procedures and can communicate with one
another effectively on the incident ground.
OBJECTIVE 5: ASSURANCE
A process of internal Operational Assurance will
continually test the effectiveness of our operational
response to ensure that it is effective and fit for
purpose. We will also provide strategic assurance
to Government that agreed capabilities are in
place to ensure that Scotland’s critical fire assets
are available, protected and resilient. These two
functions will contribute to our Business Continuity
arrangements and help to maintain service delivery
at all times.
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Objective 1: OPERATIONAL RESPONSE
Much work has already been carried out in
establishing the suitability of the current distribution
of resources throughout Scotland to meet local
changes in demographics and risk, however
opportunities now exist to improve this situation
further by looking at Scotland as a whole.
To ensure we have the correct people and
equipment in the correct locations to provide
the best possible emergency response the
Response & Resilience Directorate will undertake
a comprehensive review evaluating the location
of our Stations, Officers, Fire Appliances and
equipment.
As part of the ongoing process of Integrated Risk
management Planning (IRMP), this review will
be completed within the life span of this strategy
document, although full implementation of the
findings is likely to be a longer term undertaking.
Detailed risk information is also an essential
component in securing public and firefighter safety.
It is crucial that risk critical information is captured
consistently throughout Scotland, and we will work
closely with our partner agencies to ensure that this
risk information is shared appropriately and that all
of our operational staff can access risk information
quickly and reliably.
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TASKS
• Carry out a review of all Station locations, risk
profiles and activity levels to ensure the correct
speed and weight of response.
• Carry out a review of SFRS special resources
making sure that they are strategically located to
address the risks that our communities face.
• Introduce a realistic, and appropriate response
standard for Scotland.
• Ensure that a suitable programme of
Operational Intelligence (OI) gathering is in
place and that it is available to staff in a usable,
easily accessible and accurate format.
• Establish a liaison and communication structure
within the 3 service delivery areas to ensure
continuity of approach.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
• A review has been successfully undertaken,
establishing the suitability of the current
provision of operational resources, and provided
improvement options where required.
• Our special resources are effectively
distributed across Scotland, providing more
equitable access to these resources for our
communities, based on local and national
assessments of risk.
• A response standard for Scotland has been
introduced that ensures an appropriate
response to emergency incidents.
• A programme of OI gathering is in place
which ensures that high risk premises are
visited first, and that OI information is reliably
available to operational crews on the incident
ground in a user friendly format.
• A robust liaison and communication structure
is operating within the service delivery areas,
making sure that there is a standard approach
to the delivery of our operational service.
Effective Command and Control at operational
incidents is vital in maintaining safety and a common
approach to Operational Command and Control
has already been adopted across Scotland.
It will be the subject of ongoing work to maintain
this standard approach, and SDA Liaison teams
will ensure that Command and Control is applied
uniformly throughout the SFRS.
Objective 2: PLANNING
Up until November 2013, there were eight Strategic
Co-ordinating Groups in Scotland that oversaw
and co-ordinated emergency responders in their
planning and preparation for large scale emergency
incidents. From November onwards, this structure
was replaced with three Regional Resilience
Partnerships (RRPs – North, West and East) carrying
out the same role of co-ordinating emergency
responder agencies. The SFRS along with Police
Scotland, the Scottish Ambulance Service, the
Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and a
number of other agencies are classed as Category 1
responders in terms of emergency planning.
As the new RRPs become established, the SFRS
will standby in full support of the new co-ordinating
arrangements, ensuring that we play a full part
in the transition process and securing our place
as a key agency within the emergency planning
environment.
The SFRS will work alongside our partner agencies
in preparing to face existing and emerging risks that
face the communities of Scotland, and will be fully
involved in the planning process.
We will continually review our capabilities in this
area, ensuring that a speedy and effective response
is maintained for any foreseeable emergency
occurrence through our process of Integrated Risk
Management Planning, as detailed earlier in this
document. This joint working is essential, so that
we can be confident that when real emergencies
occur, we have the mechanisms in place and
the knowledge of each other’s capabilities and
limitations to make sure that an effective plan is
implemented to bring the incident to a speedy and
safe conclusion.
The need for close partnership working is even
greater when we work together to resolve
incidents requiring specialist rescue techniques
and equipment. In these situations, there may
be a number of agencies that can contribute to
the swift and safe resolution of the incident, and
effective planning along with the introduction
of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) and
other formalised agreements are important in
making certain that the best possible outcomes
can be achieved and that our communities are well
protected.
As highlighted earlier in this document, the process
of Integrated Risk Management ensures that risk,
and our operational capacity to address this risk, is
continually assessed and reassessed. This process
assures that we have the right resources in the right
place at the right time, and that our operational
capability matches the risks that our communities
face. We will also plan for specific upcoming risks
such as the Commonwealth Games and other
significant events.
TASKS
• Work closely with the newly formed RRPs,
making sure that the high standard of planning
and preparedness that has always been in
place is maintained and improved.
• Produce the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth
Games response strategy.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
• A high level of planning and preparedness for
major incidents is continually maintained.
• A comprehensive, far-reaching strategy to
ensure the best possible provision of services
to address any potential risk that may be faced
at the Commonwealth Games is produced.
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Objective 3: COMMAND AND CONTROL
When the SFRS was launched in April 2013, there
were eight individual control rooms operating
across Scotland, aligned with the original eight
fire and rescue service locations that existed
prior to the merger. These control rooms have
been effectively dealing with all emergency calls
requesting assistance for members of the public,
reliably mobilising the appropriate resources, and
providing the essential lines of communication that
are required to maintain effective command and
control at incidents.
Whilst the value of our control room staff cannot
be overstated, the control rooms themselves
have been subject to review. To make certain
that the SFRS has the most up-to-date and
efficient mobilising arrangements possible, a
comprehensive review has been undertaken and
has been presented to the Board. This review has
helped to establish the optimum number of control
rooms for Scotland and their ideal locations and
desired capabilities in terms of hardware, software,
accommodation and other equipment.
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The review also examined the capability and
suitability of each of the existing control rooms in
Scotland, matched against the findings of the study,
as well as considering shared services with other
agencies such as Police Scotland.
The review went on to provide detailed information
about future needs and developments to ensure
that the SFRS will continue to have a high quality,
robust and resilient system for many years to
come, taking into account predictable advances in
communications technology.
The findings of the review were presented to the
SFRS Board to allow them to make an informed
decision about the future of mobilising and
Command and Control for the Fire and Rescue
Service in Scotland.
The Board’s decision was that shared services with
other agencies was not a practical solution at this
point in time, and that the existing fire and rescue
service control rooms would be reduced from eight
to three.
TASK
• Review the location and capability of all existing
control rooms.
• Establish the optimum number of control
rooms, ideal locations and capabilities.
• Produce a short, medium and long term
strategy to align the current provision with
the ideal solution as closely as is practicably
possible, securing resilient mobilising and
control arrangements.
• Review mobilising arrangements for all front line
resources including senior officers.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
• A full review of our existing control rooms has
taken place, and an efficient model for future
provision is produced.
• A strategy for implementing the findings of the
review is agreed.
• As the strategy is implemented, mobilising
and control arrangements remain robust and
effective.
• Mobilising arrangements for front line resources
and senior officers have been reviewed and the
findings implemented where appropriate.
Objective 4: INTEROPERABILITY
Whilst we have always worked closely with our
partner agencies, we recognise that this working
relationship could be further developed to ensure
that any future response to major incidents would
see even better understanding, communications
and interoperability between partners at these
times of emergency. Communications is key to
effectively resolving incidents and it is essential
that emergency services, local authorities,
voluntary organisations and other responders can
work in close co-operation and in a co-ordinated
manner, whether their role sees them on the
incident ground or providing support from remote
locations.
We currently have a number of officers trained
to be National Interagency Liaison Officers
(NILOs), capable of bridging any gap that may
exist between emergency services at an incident
such as command and control procedures,
communications protocols and planning. We will
continue to train personnel in this role, making
sure that we have an appropriate number of these
highly trained officers available, strategically
located across Scotland, to ensure that their timely
attendance at any incident can be achieved, and
that they are available to provide a liaison role
within the wider resilience community.
The Joint Emergency Services Interoperability
Programme (JESIP), launched in November 2012,
is a UK Government backed initiative that aims to
implement lessons learned from previous large
scale incidents. The programme was initially
designed to assist emergency services in England
and Wales in working together effectively at all
levels of command in response to major or complex
incidents.
In Scotland, we believe the SFRS already has strong
and productive working relationships with its
partners, but will use the lessons learnt through the
JESIP programme elsewhere in the UK to ensure that
these relationships are as fruitful as they can be and
to ensure that our partnership working continues to
benefit the communities of Scotland.
TASKS
• Work closely with other responders to identify
useful lessons from the Joint Emergency
Services Interoperability Programme for
England and Wales.
• Continue the NILO training programme that has
already been started, ensuring an appropriate
number of officers are trained to provide a
resilient support mechanism for major incidents .
• Effective joint training will be carried
out to establish the effectiveness of our
interoperability arrangements .
• Opportunities to improve and develop our
partnership working further will be actively
sought.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
• The SFRS has embedded the principles
of interoperability within our operating
procedures and has undertaken extensive
training in support of this with our partner
agencies.
• We have trained sufficient numbers of officers to
take on the role of NILO that we can be assured
of this provision in the event of a major incident
anywhere in Scotland .
• Training exercises and simulated incidents
confirm that we can work closely with our
partner agencies to resolve incidents effectively.
• Partnership working, including the ability to
understand and exploit the perspectives of
other responder agencies, is embedded within
SFRS culture.
Working together for a safer Scotland 16
Objective 5: ASSURANCE
The SFRS is a key contributor in providing national
resilience in the event of a large scale emergency
where there is a threat to human welfare, the
environment or national security. This includes
incidents with Chemical, Biological, Radiation,
Nuclear or Explosive (CBRNE) involvement, those
which come about as a result of terrorism, those
caused by natural disasters, and those which may
be caused by large scale industrial accidents.
As well as CBRNE incidents, other large scale
incidents such as building collapses and flooding
require a substantial response from the fire and
rescue service and our partners, with flooding in
particular likely to become an increased threat to
our communities in coming years.
At present, there are significant quantities of
resilience equipment distributed across Scotland,
and whilst these were provided in the first instance
by Government, the responsibility and costs
associated with maintaining this equipment and
training staff in its use falls to the fire and rescue
service.
We will review our Resilience Assets to determine
their on-going suitability, their capabilities, their
locations and the costs involved in maintaining
this additional capability and develop a national
resilience assurance model that will ensure a
17
Working together for a safer Scotland
co-ordinated and consistent response to large scale
emergencies nationwide.
We will also provide assurance to Government as
to our ongoing capability to deal with incidents
requiring these assets, and secure the availability of
these assets and the trained crews to operate them
in the event of a major incident. This will form part of
a detailed Business Continuity Plan for the SFRS.
TASKS
• Review our existing resilience assets, ensuring
the suitability and location of these assets in
terms of securing public safety and effective
incident response.
• Ascertain the long term feasibility of
maintaining and crewing this equipment within
existing budget lines.
• Provide regular assurance to Government as to
the availability of these assets.
• Contribute to the SFRS Business Continuity
Plan.
MEASURE OF SUCCESS
• A review of our resilience assets has been
completed and assists in determining the
appropriate distribution of these valuable
resources and providing the greatest level of
protection for our communities.
• The long term feasibility of maintaining and
crewing these resilience assets has been
examined and reported on.
• Regular assurance as to the availability of
our resilience assets is communicated to
Government, as well as early warning of
any potential difficulties in maintaining this
provision.
• A comprehensive Business Continuity Plan
has been produced that details how we will
provide our operational response at all times.
Working together for a safer Scotland
CONTACT US
This Response and Resilience
Strategy supports the work of the
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in
providing the best possible service
for our communities and for the
people of Scotland. We know that
the way in which we deliver our
services can have a great impact on
the local community, and we value
every opinion in striving to achieve
the highest of standards.
If you have something to tell us, no matter how
important or trivial it may seem, please do not
hesitate to get in touch using any of the lines of
communication below:
• Use the electronic feedback form on our
website.
• Contact your local community fire station. You
will find details listed on our website or in your
local telephone directory.
• Contact our HQ by telephone or letter at the
adjacent address.
• Our website can be found at
www.firescotland.gov.uk
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Working together for a safer Scotland
Response and Resilience Directorate
contact details:
Director of Response and Resilience
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service HQ
5 Whitefriars Crescent
Perth, PH2 0PA
Tel: 01786 621234
Email: [email protected]
If you would like a copy of this document in a
different format or a version in another language
please contact:
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service HQ,
Corporate Communications,
5 Whitefriars Crescent,
Perth, PH2 0PA
Tel. 01738 475260
Working together for a safer Scotland
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V0.6.1 20th January 2014